Car rental in Sardinia - low cost operators a bad idea?

itm2

We need to rent a car from Olbia airport for 10 days in September, and have been scanning the price comparison sites recommended on the MSE site. Obviously the best prices (by far) are from companies that I've never heard of (B-Rent, Surprice, Felirent, etc), and those companies typically get universal 1 star "scammer" reviews. 
I'm conscious of the fact that people are far more likely to leave a review of a car rental company if they've had a bad experience (so the 1 star reviews may not be a representative sample of all customer experiences), but I'm wondering whether paying approximately double for the bigger names (e.g. Avis, Sixt, Europcar, Thrifty) is actually likely to result in a lower risk of a disastrous experience.
I haven't rented a car overseas for over 5 years. Are there any regular overseas car rental customers who have views on this? For example:
- do you generally avoid the low-cost companies? If so, why?
- have you generally had better experiences with the top brands, albeit at a much higher cost?
Any views much appreciated.

DullGreyGuy

Use both, I've status with some of the big names so get some perks if using them but not enough to offset the price difference in all cases. 

I've generally had a good experience with all companies with just a few errors along the way. I suspect there is an element of luck with this rather than careful selection of firms etc. 

Be aware that in some places the big boys are actually a franchise and not actually operated by the company themselves, again not an automatic reason to decline but control of franchises is always harder than your own sites. 

bagand96

Also used international chains and small unknown local companies in various locations.  Hired two cars in Italy a couple of years back both with local companies and had no issues.

As you say when people have bad experiences they'll leave a bad review.  And that can be expensive damage charges, or quite often they fall for the hard sell at the rental desk and end up paying a lot of insurance or extras.

Always read the hire Terms and Conditions.  Seen reports of some operators in Spain who will insist on an IDP even though it's not required by law.  "Haven't got one?  That's fine, you can still have the car but you must take our Zero Excess Gold cover package at €50 a day".  

Arrange your own Excess Insurance.  Don't fall for the heavy sell at the desk to take their own Zero Excess package.  "We don't recognise your policy".  Of course they don't -  it's a policy between you and a third party insurer.

Obviously protect yourself as much as possible. Photos at pick up, video if you can, insist on a damage report if there is damage.  Photo of the dash to prove mileage and fuel.  Same at drop off.

Search the TripAdvisor forums for the destination.  Sometimes you'll see local companies recommended who never appear on the comparison sites.

zagfles

Don't use comparison sites to search for car hire. Or at least not ones based on price. Because car hire companies strive to get to the top of the list (ie be the cheapest) by cutting their headline price to something often unrealistic and probably unprofitable, then to actually turn a profit they add unexpected extras, like fuel policies, like trying to sell CDW excess policies at the desk when you pick up and practically force customers to buy with dubious tactics, or even stuff like charging a fortune for a tiny scratch that was probably already there. 

Personally I try to avoid airport car hires. Depending on the type of holiday you're having there may be a better option. If for instance you're staying in a popular tourist resort for the entire holiday, do you really need a car for the whole holiday? There may be days when you don't use it, eg day round the pool/local beach, organised tours etc. Could it be better to get a transfer/taxi/public transport to/from the airport and hire a car in the resort? Tourist resorts usually have loads of good value car hire places where you can pay in cash and so avoid nasty surprises on your credit card. And you may not need the car for the whole holiday, plus you could get a smaller car as you don't need to transport luggage. Those savings could easily pay for airport transfers. 

Obviously if you're doing a road trip staying in multiple places or staying somewhere in the middle of nowhere this wouldn't be an option. 

daveyjp

Get a quote from Zest car hire to compare prices against,

itm2

daveyjp said:

Get a quote from Zest car hire to compare prices against,

Is there any particular reason why Zest would be a better place to search than the sites referred to on the MSE main site? (e.g. Kayak, Skyscanner, Travelsupermarket, etc)

daveyjp

itm2 said:

daveyjp said:

Get a quote from Zest car hire to compare prices against,

Is there any particular reason why Zest would be a better place to search than the sites referred to on the MSE main site? (e.g. Kayak, Skyscanner, Travelsupermarket, etc)

Zest are well established and UK based, the rates include all insurances.  I have used them numerous times over almost 20 years and never had a problem.  This includes the time I parked in a car park and came back to a car with a huge dent in one of the doors.  Reported it, but no issues or demands for any payments.

bagand96

zagfles said:

Don't use comparison sites to search for car hire. Or at least not ones based on price. Because car hire companies strive to get to the top of the list (ie be the cheapest) by cutting their headline price to something often unrealistic and probably unprofitable, then to actually turn a profit they add unexpected extras, like fuel policies, like trying to sell CDW excess policies at the desk when you pick up and practically force customers to buy with dubious tactics, or even stuff like charging a fortune for a tiny scratch that was probably already there. 

I'm not sure this is the best advice.  Comparison sites will give you a plethora of options in seconds, it's a great place to start your search.  You can then see the options and go directly to the hire company's own sites to see if dealing with them direct is comparable.  By all means exercise caution - read the terms of the hire, cancellation policy, fuel policy, insurance etc.  But the same advice applies to going direct anyway.

Taking reasonable precautions with all stages of hiring a car is the best advice, regardless of booking channel.  

bagand96

daveyjp said:

itm2 said:

daveyjp said:

Get a quote from Zest car hire to compare prices against,

Is there any particular reason why Zest would be a better place to search than the sites referred to on the MSE main site? (e.g. Kayak, Skyscanner, Travelsupermarket, etc)

Zest are well established and UK based, the rates include all insurances.  I have used them numerous times over almost 20 years and never had a problem.  This includes the time I parked in a car park and came back to a car with a huge dent in one of the doors.  Reported it, but no issues or demands for any payments.

Zest are indeed well established and often recommended - I've used them myself without issue.

They do sell hire that includes "all insurances" however there's two different ways they do this. Either a hire that has all insurances included with the hire company and £0 deposit/excess.  Or a more standard hire where you still have an excess and deposit, and then Zest incorporate their own Excess Protection Insurance.  Many other brokers offer the same options.

They list many hire firms in search results including worldwide brands and local.  Do they do any additional vetting of hire companies over other sites?  Do hire companies treat customers better if they've booked via Zest?  I'm not trying to be negative about Zest - just curious why they seem to be recommended so often. My experience with them was fine, but no different than any other broker.

ellenvan

Another vote for Zest
Exceptional customer service.
Best price.
English assistance if any problems 

itm2

I just tried a search on Zest. The quotes mainly seem to be for companies that I've never heard of, so difficult to make a judgement. Has anyone had any experience of Centauro or RecordGo, for example?

Their prices (as well as many others) indicate "Excess Protection Included" - does this provide full protection from one of the most common "scam" complaints - the rental company claiming for damage to the vehicle after you have dropped it off? I was planning on buying separate insurance for this, based on advice on the MSE site - would this make that unnecessary?